Pieminister, Manchester

What's the big deal with Pieminister? Am I alone in failing to see the attraction? As far as I can tell they seem to garner almost universal acclaim for what are some pretty average pies and some pretty good marketing.

I've eaten them at festivals before and not been impressed, but when I spotted the branch that's opened in Manchester I'd thought I'd give them another try.

Sadly my opinion hasn't changed. The moo pie (beef, pepper and ale) was just alright. The pastry, curiously limp and tasteless, seemed to have been made with durability in mind rather than flavour or texture. Anyone ever had an Aussie garage pie? A bit like that.

The filling was better, but still unremarkable. On the plus side there were large pieces of beef bound in a dark, marmitey gravy but on the down side there were only three of them and they were a bit chewy. Mushy peas were proper mushy peas but there weren't enough of them. The gravy was nice enough.

Still don't get it. You can easily find better in any number of pubs, bakeries and butchers. Six quid (I think, unless it was seven?) for pie, peas and gravy.

5/10

53 Church Street
Manchester
M4 1PD

http://www.pieminister.co.uk/eat-at/shops/

The Rutland Arms, Sheffield

This is going to be a very brief post, for the simple reason that it's boiling hot and I can't really be bothered. The sooner I finish the sooner I can return to lolling around drinking ice cold stubbies of cheap French lager with my tongue hanging out like an overheated labrador. Just the latter bit like a labrador by the way, you shouldn't give your dog lager, not even in this weather.

Anyhow I'm just about bothering because I've been meaning to rave about the Rutland Arms for a while now. It's a rare gem of a pub, a pleasing mish-mash of traditional and modern melded together to form something a bit special. Old school pub decor and layout, beer choices to keep both the trad cask crowd and craft nerds happy, a mixed clientele and a lively atmosphere.

The food is an interesting proposition too, managing to do classic pub grub alongside something a bit different but with absolutely no nods to current fads or fashions. There are pies, sausages and carb-fest booze soaking chip butties in various guises, but also keenly priced and creative sounding vegetarian and fish dishes that pop up on the specials boards. Salads that sound worth the effort too, now that the heat is upon us.

I was last there a couple of weeks ago when it was still a bit fresh out, so I had the pie; chicken, mushroom and stilton. I'll excuse the china bowl with a pastry lid format, 'cos it was very nice. Lovely crumbly pastry and a soupy, cheesy filling rammed full of actual proper chicken pieces, you know like thigh meat and stuff. Great work. Nice chips too, but the veg was a bit pointless.

About seven quid for the pie, and good beer at normal pub prices. A damn fine pub this, you really should go. I've only been in chilly weather, but I'm pretty sure there's a beer garden.

9/10 for the pub, and what the hell let's call it an 8/10 for the food.

Rutland Arms
86 Brown Street
Sheffield
S1 2BS

http://www.rutlandarmspeople.co.uk

The Stag's Head, Nether Edge, Sheffield

This is more an ode to spring than a review, but never mind. Is there any finer feeling than that of the onset of spring?

It felt like Spring on Saturday. There was a chill in the air, but just a hint of warmth in the sun. Enough to make you turn your face instinctively to soak up anything on offer. It was the light that really made the difference though. Full light rendering everything bright and fresh, not the fleeting, blinding light you get from a glancing winter sun.

So being outside felt right. And the pub felt right too. The Stag's Head, a recent Thornbridge takeover (was it not just The Stag until recently?) did the job admirably. Picnic tables in the sun, well kept, quality beer and traditional, ungussied pub grub.

I couldn't fault the pie, a proper full crust effort with a dark, almost marmitey steak filling. Great clods of homely mash and peas on the side, and a jug of onion gravy. Completely satisfying, and warming to the core, setting us up for one more pint outdoors.

So we drank another, then down the hill to warmer climes to drink some more. A perfect Saturday afternoon.

£6.50 for pie, mash, peas and gravy. Pint essential. Al fresco dining recommended.

8/10

15 Psalter Lane
Sheffield
S11 8YL

http://mystagshead.co.uk/home.html

The Great Barn Restaurant, Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire

Before we get on to the food, how about some architecture? Hardwick Hall is a magnificent building, just look at it. The windows are what really wowed me, the extensive use of glass is hugely impressive for something that was built in the 1590's, so much so that it reminds me of things built 300 years or more later, like early modern buildings with its clean lines and restraint in ornamentation. I actually think it looks a bit like Glasgow School of Art.

If this sort of thing interests you I'd definitely recommend a visit, and while you're there you might want to lunch at the Great Barn restaurant, and if you're lucky it might be a good lunch.

Our lunch was good in parts. The long-stewed pigeon, pheasant and rabbit in a game pie was held in an intensely meaty stock, heady with bay, and a lamb stew also tasted great.

Less good were accompanying 'winter vegetables' which included, amongst other things, sugar snap peas. Mmmm wintry. Surely some root veg in addition to the carrots would have made more sense?

I said if you're lucky you might have a very good lunch here, but on the other hand you might not. It feels a bit harsh writing negative things about a restaurant run by a charity (which the National Trust is of course), but if they're going to big themselves up then they deserve to be held to it. 'Creative vegetarian options' is what it says online. Sorry but a potato and aubergine bake comprising slices of aubergine, undercooked potato, undercooked peppers, whole cloves of virtually raw garlic and loads of tinned tomatoes all under a slick of melted cheese does not add up to a 'creative vegetarian option', 'rubbish vegetarian option' would be more apt.

Rhubarb crumble and custard was also poor. First time around it arrived cold, as in actually not even a little bit warm, second time around it was hot but under-sweetened and not very crumbly.

The meat dishes were good, the other things weren't. Service was a bit slow but they were exceedingly busy.   For purposes of comparison, the veggie dish aside, you'd be happy enough with a pub serving food of this standard for under a tenner, as it is here. Visit Hardwick Hall, eat at the Great Barn restaurant, you might be lucky.

6/10


Hardwick Hall
Doe Lea
Chesterfield
S44 5QJ

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hardwick/

Good things to eat [Volume 13]

Here's another round-up of a few good things I've been eating recently.

Wensleydale Creamery Cheeses

I've had a long and enduring relationship with Wensleydale cheese. As a teenager trips to stay at a mate's parents caravan near Aysgarth often entailed a trip further up the dale to gorge on freebies at the creamery shop.

These were some of my earliest full-on food orientated weekends really (though I'm not sure that's quite how we saw it at the time), with fish and chips in Leyburn followed by a visit to the butcher's for ham and egg pies and slabs of belly pork to tide us over until a sturdy pub dinner and a skinful of Riggwelter. Oof. And that's before we even got to the cheese.

The last time I was there I was worried that they'd sold out to the mass-production gimmick-cheese gods (maybe they'd got Alex James in as a consultant?), there being little of interest beyond the basic Wensleydale and far too many fruity, sugary, stupid versions with bits in. Wensleydale with pineapple anyone?

This time around they seem to have had a rethink. The gimmick cheese is still there in spades, but attentions have been re-focussed on cheese for people who like the taste of cheese. I was particularly impressed by these three cheeses.

Photo credit: Wikipedia commons

Kit Calvert Wensleydale - an extra mature version that somehow manages to retain the fresh crumbly character of the young cheese while also being softer in texture and less acidic in taste. It's quite buttery and rich, and probably best eaten on its own. Or maybe with an Eccles cake or an apple.

Bishopdale - a good quality cheddar-alike, with a very smooth almost processed texture rescued by the presence of loads of little crystalline bits and a fantastic flavour. Rich and meaty, sort of like the surface of a properly cooked steak. Great in anything you'd put cheddar in I would have thought.

Coverdale - Wensleydale taken in the opposite direction to the Kit Calvert version, wonderfully bright and tart, a fresher alternative to the original. Would work well in salads in place of feta, but worth eating on it's own.

The cheese shop at the Hawes creamery has lots of free samples. You can really fill your boots and no-one seems to mind. Probably polite to actually buy some as well, which I always do these days.

http://wensleydale.co.uk/


Forge Bakehouse

A new bakery that's just opened on Abbeydale Road in Sheffield. I came across it completely by accident on what was actually their opening weekend. I bought a very good baguette, but need to investigate their bread further before writing about it.

What doesn't warrant further investigation, but does warrant many repeat purchases, is their pastry. A lemon meringue pie and a Valrhona chocolate brownie were an absolute delight, the pie especially so. In really skilled hands it's possible to make calorific fat and sugar laden pastries and puddings with such a deft touch it's as if you were eating delicious air.

Whoever is baking at the Forge has that level of skill. I could eat one of these pies in two mouthfuls. Two mouthfuls of burnished sticky sweet meringue, smooth tangy lemon and the shortest, most delicate pastry.

232 Abbeydale Road
Sheffield
S7 1FL

http://www.forgebakehouse.co.uk/


Raspberry Curd

Until I saw this in the gift shop at Rievaulx Abbey I'd never even considered the possibility of a curd being made from anything other than citrus fruit, but why the hell not. Any suitably acidic fruit ought to work right?

Raspberries, being the best fruit there is, make an excellent curd. The flavour is purest essence of raspberries and butter, sweetened a little. You want this on your toast, trust me.

Available at National Trust shops, but home-made would be even better. Come to think of it, how about a raspberry meringue pie?

The Old Red Lion, Grenoside, Sheffield

The idea of having a proper local pub always appeals. A regular haunt, nothing fancy required, just reliably good beer and food. Somewhere you can rock up any night of the week for an impromptu pint or pie, safe in the knowledge you won't be disappointed. 

It doesn't sound like a big ask, but if, like me, you never end up living in the leafy, fashionable or well-to-do suburbs, it can be a challenge. Live in Dulwich, Chorlton or Chapel Allerton and this mission ought to be straightforward. Try Woolwich, Sale or Outwood and you might struggle. 

Now that I'm residing on the north side of Sheffield the challenge starts anew. The Old Red Lion would just about fit the bill, so it's a shame it's not quite within walking distance.

It looks like a traditional village pub, but the food on offer is a little more ambitious. There's a menu of pub classics, pitched around the ten or twelve quid mark, and a fixed price menu at £23 for two courses. We thought we'd try the pub grub first time around then return for the more upmarket stuff at a later date if it was any good.

On the face of it the beef, mushroom and ale pie ticked every one of my 'dislike' boxes. China bowl of stew with a pastry lid rather than an actual pie: check. Jenga chips: check. Another annoying china bowl with not enough peas in it: check.

Putting my prejudices aside I got stuck in and what do you know, it was really good. Tender beef and fat slices of earthy mushroom in a thin but well-flavoured broth encased in short, delicate pastry. Peas that were a lot better than they looked and competent chips.

AS had the rump steak, a decent enough piece of meat that was accurately cooked, a feat beyond most pubs. A side of onion rings were fine specimens, hot, crunchy and more-ish. I enjoyed them so much I'm even prepared to forgive the great big pointless tomato, which was big, pointless and not great.

That return visit is definitely on the cards, there's a partridge dish with my name on it. Were it half a mile closer to home The Old Red Lion could be my local, as it is I'm still on the lookout. Any good pubs in Oughtibridge?

7/10

210 Main Street

Grenoside

Sheffield

S35 8PR

Please note: Don't mistake this place for the other Red Lion in Grenoside on the A61, which is a bit crap.

http://www.restaurantgrenoside.co.uk/

Costello's Bakery, Headingley, Leeds

Someone on Twitter suggested Costello's to me as somewhere I might find a good cake. I didn't find a good cake there, but I did find a very good lunch deal so thank you very much whoever you are.

It was a little incongruous sat eating this on a warm sun dappled afternoon, it's probably more one for the dismal winter months, but who am I to turn down pie, mash, gravy and a drink for £3.50? I got the choice of ordinary or special mash, special being ordinary with added leeks and bacon. Entirely predictably I chose the special.

I enjoyed the pie, a sturdy affair of short pastry and tender, stewed beef. The mash and gravy weren't half bad either and there was bloody loads of it. Give it three months until there's a nip in the air then get yourself down there. In the meantime the sandwiches looked good too.

7/10

61 Otley Road
Headingley
LS6 3AB

http://www.costellosbakery.com/

Holland's Pies

FREEBIE ALERT

There's not much need for the freebie alert this time, as I'm not going to say anything very complimentary.

Holland's offered to send me a bag full of pies to review. Yes, yes I know they're hardly a gourmet brand. I know they sell them in supermarkets and they're probably cheap and nasty and horrid and full of unpleasant ingredients (to be fair, their website suggests otherwise. Make of that what you will). But really, who cares? Free pies right? I love pies.

From time to time I love a bargain basement pie too. A posh pie isn't always what you need. I used to have a borderline addiction to Gregg's for starters, and you can't beat a chicken balti pie at the football. The gist of it was this: was there any chance of me turning down a bag full of free pies that might just turn out to be nice? No.

Steak pie first. This was ok. The 'unique, golden shortcrust pastry' didn't seem particularly unique to me. It was thin but rather solid and tasteless. Not unpleasant it just passed me by without leaving much of an impression. You'll find the same stuff encasing all of the pies in the range.

The filling wasn't bad. There were a few good chunks of tender-ish meat (more than you'll find in a Greggs steak bake by way of comparison) in a fairly tasty but overly gloopy (too much flour at a guess) gravy. I ate it with mushy peas from a tin which were delicious of course.

 
A day or two later I ate the vegetarian joker in the pack, the cheese and onion pie. I really didn't like this one. The filling wasn't anywhere near cheesy enough, like they'd made a cheese sauce with a cornflour and margarine base and not very much mild cheddar. It left a weird coating on my teeth, as if I'd been slurping wallpaper paste through a straw. Not good. Horrid really.

The meat pie was better, more like a pork pie in style this one. The filling was of solid meat, pork and beef apparently, which had quite a pleasing slightly coarse texture. It tasted ok, but primarily of salt and pepper. I tried to ignore the scary quantity of fat that leached out of it during cooking though. Better on the baking tray than inside me I suppose.

In summary, I've eaten worse. I didn't get round to trying several others, which can now be found languishing in the depths of my freezer. I doubt they'll see the light of day unless I'm desperate and hungover.


http://www.hollandspies.co.uk/

Relish, Ecclesall Road, Sheffield

Relish is part of the mini empire run by the excellent Thornbridge Brewery. As a fan of their beer I had high hopes for the food and the experience in general. It's styled as a kitchen, bar and social which is probably about right. It's casual and lively but definitely not a pub, the emphasis being on the food with table service provided throughout.

The menu is fairly pubby though, sort of sturdy British in the modern style. There are pies and burgers, and things involving ham hock and scotching of eggs. Being greedy I opted for the Steak & Thornbridge ale pot pie, suet pastry of grain mustard/thyme/cheddar cheese, beef dripping potatoes, mushy peas and a jug of gravy (£12).

It was very good in every department save one. Sadly the suet crust pastry let the side down. If you get suet pastry right it can be a joy, and surprisingly light too (blowing of own trumpet alert - see this version). Unfortunately the Relish suet crust was thick, claggy, underdone and not much fun at all.

Back to the positives, everything else was great. Nice roasties, well-made proper gravy and excellent sloppy peas. The pie filling was packed with slow cooked tender meat and assorted vegetables bound in a very tasty gravy (perhaps seasoned with Sheffield's finest Henderson's relish?).

As an aside I can't help but complain about the lack of a plate. It seems like everywhere I go at the moment wants to serve me my dinner on a roof tile or a chopping board or a plank. I've said it before and I'll say it again: what is wrong with a plate? Why would I want to eat gravy from a chopping board? Why? Stop it. Rant over.

Across the table AS also declared her sausage, mash, Yorkshire pudding and gravy a success, the only criticism being a surfeit of gravy. AS is a Southerner though, so she obviously doesn't understand that there's no such thing as too much gravy, especially where sausages and mash are concerned. That's also the small portion (yes, small) costing just £6.

Good stuff overall, friendly service and reasonably priced at around £23 including drinks (Thornbridge Jaipur IPA - delicious). If they'd given me good pastry and put my dinner on a plate I'd have upped the rating a notch.

7/10


371-373 Ecclesall Road
Sheffield
S11 8PF

www.relishrelish.co.uk

Cheese, onion and potato pie

Sunday was a pie baking sort of day. Cold, with lying snow on the ground. Head a little delicate from the previous night's excess.

A big plate of carbs was the order of the day, something filling but frugal. This pie really hit the spot. Cheap to make, satisfying, cheesy, savoury, and lighter than you'd imagine thanks to the delicate, flaky pastry.

Good pastry is essential for this. Stodgy pastry with a cheesy potato filling would all be a bit heavy going, but Delia's flaky pastry recipe is just perfect. Butter-rich but thin and with a lightness that belies the fat content. It's ridiculously easy to make too.

This will serve 3-6 people depending on greed and accompaniments. It will take around 90 minutes to cook, not including the time taken to make and rest the pastry.

What you'll need:

1 batch of flaky pastry made using the recipe here
2.5 lbs of good mashing potatoes
milk and butter for the mash
2 large onions
6-8 ozs of strong tasting cheese (mature cheddar with a bit of parmesan added is good)
salt
vegetable oil
white pepper
one egg (not essential)

What to do:

1. Put the oven on at 180 deg C then finely slice the onions. Warm about 1 tbsp of oil and a knob of butter in a large heavy bottomed pan then add the onions. Keep the heat low as you want them to sweat without browning until they're very sweet and tender. This will take up to 45 minutes.

2. Get out a large, deep oval or round pie dish. Roll out about two thirds of the pastry so that it will cover the bottom and sides of the pie dish. Push the pastry case into the dish then put it in the oven to blind bake for 20 minutes. If you haven't got baking beans any dried bean or pulse should do the trick. Put the remainder of the pastry back in the fridge.

3. Remember to keep stirring the onions to make sure they don't stick and start to colour. Peel and chop the potatoes then put them on to boil in salted water until tender (about 15 minutes).

4. After 20 minutes remove the blind-baked pie case from the oven. Drain the boiled potatoes and mash them with a little warm milk, plenty of butter and loads of white pepper. Add more salt if it needs it. You want the mash to be very moist, but not wet. Just so it can't quite hold its own shape.

5. Grate the cheese. Check the onions for doneness. They should be very soft and sweet, give them longer if they need it.

6. When the onions are done everything can be layered up in the pie dish. First spoon in the mash, then the onions and finally the cheese.

7. Roll out the rest of the pastry to make the pie lid, then add it to the top of the pie. Seal the lid and brush it with egg wash if you've got an egg to hand. Otherwise just squash the lid into place. Prong a couple of holes in the top with a fork then bake the pie in the oven until golden brown, about 35 minutes.

8. Serve hot with peas, or even better, with baked beans. This is also good served cold, sliced into wedges, maybe with some salad.

Good things to eat (volume 8): A Christmas Special

This is going to be mostly about cheese. I've written very little about cheese, not through a lack of love for the stuff, but rather because I don't actually eat it that often. The occasional block of mature cheddar for toasting purposes, the odd hunk of stilton with a glass of red, parmesan for pasta and that's about it.

For reasons I'm not quite sure about cheese has turned into a special occasion food for me, a celebratory treat rather than an everyday fridge staple. Christmas is inevitably the big one. Time to hit the cheese.

Continuing a recent theme of untraditional Christmases this year, for the second in succession (last year was curry) I avoided a roast dinner entirely, instead feasting on a sort of über-buffet at my Sister's house. My brother-in-law and I compiled a list of pretty much everything we like to eat and drink the most, and that were suitable for grazing and snacking, and made or bought the lot.

We ate jamon iberico, gordal olives and sherry. There was paté, and wonderful sourdough bread, and cured salmon.

We ate fat wedges of pork pie (my first ever pork pie - a success!) with cornichons. Fresh, sweet scallops were enjoyed au gratin and sautéed in herb butter, as were garlicky prawns. We ate buffalo wings and drank beer, rich, dark porter and also fragrant, fruity pale ale.

And we ate cheese. Lots of lovely cheese. It's the cheese that I want to talk about, because I haven't said much about cheese, and these are some of the finest cheeses I know, and I really would recommend that you seek any of them out if you want to assemble the ultimate cheeseboard. Cheese heaven. Really.

Montgomery's Cheddar

Photo credit: Forman and Field

The King of Cheddar as far as I'm concerned. It has a hard, craggy almost crystalline texture that breaks down into creaminess in the mouth. The flavour is almost parmesan-like in it's umami depth, intensely savoury but also with bursts of fruitiness. This is perfect on its own but when blended with Comté it makes the best Cheese on toast I think I've ever tasted. I had it for lunch two days running and now there is none left.

Comté

One of the wonders of cheese is its infinite variety. Comté is a hard cheese made with unpasteurised cow's milk, just like Montgomery's Cheddar. They also share some flavour characteristics, fruitiness and depth. But in other ways they're completely different. Comté has a smooth dense texture, and tastes rich and buttery with a lingering sweetness. Wonderful alone, or as I said before, blended to make the cheese-on-toast-of-the-gods. I'm salivating obscenely just thinking about it. There is also none of this left. Boo hoo.

Tunworth

Photo credit: Tasty Treats

A sweaty-French English cheese, Tunworth is reminiscent of a good Brie or Camembert. Ours was quite a ripe specimen, and oozed a rather cabbagey stench that was slightly too much for my nose. I can't always handle the riper of French cheeses. On tasting any reservations were waylaid. It's wonderful. The stronger, funkier notes rapidly give way to a long lasting sweet, nutty, slightly tangy taste as the soft paste dissolves in your mouth. I like this one with oatcakes.

Cardo

Photo Credit: Cartmel Cheeses

This was the curveball. The only cheese I'd never eaten before. It's a washed rind goats cheese. Deceptively subtle as the strong flavour of the rind gives way to quite a mild, herbal goaty interior. Really delicious and one I'd definitely try again. I think this would be best eaten entirely on its own to appreciate it fully.

Stichelton

Last but certainly not least, Stichelton. This is quite possibly my favourite cheese of all time. It's essentially a Stilton, but Stilton has protected designation of origin status, and must be made with pasteurised milk. Stichelton is the unpasteurised gatecrasher at the party. A welcome gatecrasher though, replete with fine wine and witty repartee, not a four pack of Carling and a tendency to vomit.

I still have some of this left, so I'm going to eat some now and write down the sensation immediately. I'll apologise now, it will probably be gibberish. Here goes: Smooth, sharp and salty. Saltiness rising into intensely savoury filling the whole mouth, metallic but with milkiness in the background. Slightly acidic. Fading into creamy, sweet, mellow as it dissolves and disappears.

Er yes, told you it might be gibberish. Detailed description of taste is not my strong point, but you get the idea. It's complex and delicious and beautiful. Personally I think you should bin the crackers and chutney and just eat this on its own, maybe with a glass of red wine. But not port which I find too sweet, the sugar killing the flavour of the cheese. In short, it's amazing. Get some.

Shepherd's Pie

This is a fantastic Shepherd's pie. It takes a bit of time and effort but the results are worth it. Instead of mince it uses roughly shredded meat from a lamb shoulder cooked on the bone. The shoulder is marinated in garlic, rosemary and thyme then cooked in a casserole on top of a sauce of onions, wine and tomatoes. It's a win-win situation, the juices from the meat flavour the sauce and the sauce keeps the meat moist and tender. The meat is then pulled from the bones and added to the sauce and the whole lot is crowned with mash.

Think rich, succulent herby shreds of meat topped with fluffy, buttery potatoes and doused in smooth, savoury gravy. Wonderful.

This recipe should serve four, or three comfortably, or two proper fatties. It takes over three hours to cook but you won't be actually doing anything for much more than forty minutes of that.

What you'll need:

750g lamb shoulder
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 large glass red wine (about 200ml)
1 large glass water (about 200ml)
1 stock cube
1tbsp plain flour
loads of butter
fresh rosemary and thyme
freshly ground salt and pepper
Worcestershire sauce
olive oil
a big handful of mushrooms

What to do:

1. First prepare the marinade for the meat. Roughly chop about 1tbsp of fresh rosemary and about half a tbsp of fresh thyme. Peel and roughly chop 3 cloves of garlic.

2. Place the garlic and herbs in a mortar with about 1 tbsp of butter, a splash of olive oil and a generous grind of salt and pepper. Give it a good pounding with the pestle to mix everything together and release the oils from the herbs and garlic.

3. Stab the meat a few times with a knife to allow the marinade to get inside, then smear it all over the meat. Ideally you'd do this the day before, in practice I did it immediately prior to cooking it.

4. Chop the onion and then put it in a heavy bottomed casserole (the type with a lid that you can put on the hob) on a moderate heat with a generous splash of olive oil. Let the onion sweat without colouring for around 10 minutes. Open the wine and set the oven to 175 degrees C.

5. When the onions are soft throw in a level tbsp of flour, stir and fry for a minute or so.

6. Slowly pour in a large glass of red wine and bring to the boil, stirring constantly as it bubbles and thickens.

7. Pour in a glass-worth of boiling water and keep stirring. Crumble in the stock cube, empty in the tin of tomatoes, stir and simmer for a couple of minutes. It should have the consistency of a thin gravy.

8. Put the meat on top of the onion sauce mixture, put the lid on the pot and place it in the oven. Leave it alone for an hour.

9. After an hour has passed chop a big handful of mushrooms then remove the pot from the oven. Taste the sauce and add a splash of Worcestershire sauce and more salt and pepper if it needs it. Throw in the mushrooms then return to the oven for another hour.

10. Halfway through the second hour peel and chop the potatoes, then put them on to boil in a large pan. When they are done drain them, then mash with a splash of milk and loads of butter.

11. After the second hour has passed remove the pot from the oven, take out the meat and set it to one side to rest for a few minutes. Adjust the seasoning in the sauce, then strain off about half of the remaining liquid from the pot to use as gravy, leaving behind all of the solids and enough liquid to make a thick sauce.

12. Shred the meat from the bones using a knife and fork, then shred it a little bit more using two forks. Place the meat in the bottom of your pie dish.

13. Pour over the remaining sauce mixture, then cover with the mashed potatoes. Scuff up the mash with a fork so that you'll get a nice crispy finish. You could add cheese but I don't think it needs it, the lamb is rich and fatty enough and if you've made the mash properly it's full of butter anyway.

14. Put the pie in the oven and bake at the same temperature (175 degrees C) for around 40-45 minutes.

15. Serve immediately with peas or greens, the rest of the gravy and the rest of the wine.

Corned beef and potato suet crust pie

It's pie central round here at the moment. Last night I had a couple of friends round and baked one of my favourites for dinner. It's a great big comforting beast of a pie, simple to make and incredibly easy to eat in huge portions.

The controversial bit is this: there's only pastry on top. In most situations this is not the sort of pie I approve of. The standard and rightly criticised bowl of stew with a puff pastry lid found in many pubs is the prime example. Puff pastry is the wrong sort of crust for a meat pie and they're a pain in the arse to eat thanks to the annoying ceramic bowl they're served in.

This pie is different. Pastry made from suet is only pleasant with a nice crisp crust and the filling for this pie is very moist so if bottom and sides were present they'd be soggy, greasy and horrible. Just the lid works fine here.

I actually prefer suet dough rolled out into a thin pastry crust to the thicker puddings and dumplings where it's more commonly found. It makes pastry with a wonderful short, slightly flakey texture and a rich flavour.

The pie ought to serve six people, or four greedy people, or if you're like us three people with seconds then thirds a couple of hours later after loads of booze. Serve with either baked beans or steamed greens.

What you'll need:

1 large (340g) and 1 small (200g) tin of corned beef
1 very large onion
a large knob of butter
vegetable oil
4 large potatoes
2 carrots
half of an oxo cube
some fresh thyme and rosemary (enough for about 1 tbsp chopped)
200g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting and making a roux
100g beef suet
brown sauce
Worcestershire sauce
white pepper
salt

What to do:

1. Chop the onions then sweat them in a large pan in about 1tbsp of oil. Keep the heat down low so they don't colour. Give them a good twenty minutes so they are nice and soft.

2. While the onions are sweating chop the potatoes and carrots into large chunks and put them onto boil.

3. While the onions are sweating and the veg is boiling cut the corned beef into large chunks. Keep them quite big as you don't want the pieces to disintegrate entirely in the pie. Finely chop the thyme and rosemary, 1 tbsp of chopped herbs is about right.

4. When the potatoes and carrots are nearly done (they should still be a little bit hard as they'll be cooked further in the pie) drain them and set aside. Put the oven on at 180 degrees C.

5. The onions should now be soft and sweet. Boil the kettle, then add a knob of butter to the pan and let it melt, then stir in a heaped teaspoon of flour. Keep stirring for a minute or so to let the flour cook a bit then pour in boiling water a splash at a time stirring constantly so the sauce thickens. Add about half a pint of water in this way.

6. Add the potatoes and carrots to the sauce pan, then all of the seasonings: the chopped herbs, a large pinch of white pepper, half an oxo cube, salt and generous slugs from the brown and Worcestershire sauce bottles.

7. Add enough hot water to just cover the potatoes, bring to the boil then throw in the corned beef. Check the seasoning and add more salt, pepper and sauces as necessary. Turn off the heat and set aside.

8. Now to make the pastry. Weigh out the suet and flour into a mixing bowl. Add enough cold water to make this into a pliable dough. It should take about 5 tbsps worth.

9. Mix into a dough then roll out on a floured surface.

10. Pour the pie filling into a large pie dish, then top with the pastry. Don't worry if the filling looks too runny, it will thicken quite a lot as it bakes.

11. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, until the pastry is nice and golden.

Wilson's Pie Van, Leeds

There's been a worrying development at work. Every day as noon approaches, a jingle plays, the pie van is nigh. Liberally stocked with all manner of pastry-based treats and assorted condiments, it entices me down the stairs and out the door. As winter arrives it'll be hard to resist. Mmmmm pie. Lovely warm, comforting pie and peas? Oh go on then.

Fortunately for my waistline they also stock a range of salads and sandwiches, and I'm usually only in the office a couple of days a week. Panic over. Not that I've got round to trying the salads yet, but the sandwiches are great. Think large soft granary rolls, packed with good quality ham, sliced eggs and salad.

More photogenic meals are available, but none so green

Today I went for the classic, pie and peas. A generous slick of sloppy peas and a hot Wilson's pork pie for a perfectly reasonable £2.10. Nice, though I actually prefer pork pies cold or slightly warm rather than heated up.

I used to wish the pie van would visit my office, and now it does. Lucky me.

8/10 for the sandwiches
7/10 for the pie and peas

Wilson's Pie Van
Loitering outside your office and making you fat


http://www.wilsonspies.co.uk/WilsonsPiesVan/

David Street Café, Holbeck, Leeds

An old school caff in 'Holbeck Urban Village'. Who'd have thought it? If you want a sturdy fry-up or pie dinner in this part of town, this is the place to go.

Steak pie, mash, veg, Yorkshire pudding, gravy, a steaming mug of strong tea and friendly service will set you back £4.50. Bargain.

The food is good too. They clearly made the pie and the Yorkshires themselves, and made a much better job of them many pubs charging twice the price do. A properly risen pudding and a proper pie with a short crust and a generous meaty filling. The veg was a bit mushy but that's a minor quibble. If vegetables were the priority you'd have gone elsewhere.

Those of you lucky enough to work in the vicinity (rather than at the arse end of a distant industrial estate) are blessed with plenty of good places for lunch. As well as David Street I've been to the Pickled Pepper, Out of the Woods (sorry, not got round to reviewing it) and the Cross Keys. Where else should I try?

7/10

109 Water Lane
Leeds
LS11 5WD

Northern Food on tour: Festival food at Standon Calling

The food offering at festivals has improved immeasurably over the last decade or so, of that I'm sure. I remember at my first full festival there was the curry bus (which may have been sponsored by Sharwoods?), and not much else other than grotty burgers, chips and the like. That was the Leeds festival in the Temple Newsam, toilet burning era.

Fast forward ten years or so, and there's much more variety and often better quality food available too. You'll find many of the same stalls at loads of different festivals over the summer, so here's my guide to the good, the bad and the ugly from last weekend at Standon Calling.

From best to worst, here is what I ate. Or at least what I ate and remembered to take photo's of.

I also drank lots of cider. Lots and lots of cider.


Chicken paella, from Jamon Jamon (£5.50)

Positives: The most reasonably priced substantial meal I ate all weekend. Generously proportioned (there are 2 fat chicken legs hidden in there) and well seasoned. Granted most of it's just rice but bloody good rice, rich and garlicky with loads of nice crispy bits scraped from the bottom of the pan, just like a paella should have. Yum.

Negatives. They don't sell Jamon. Probably a good thing really. With festival mark-ups they'd probably charge £20 for a small plate of hand-carved iberico, then I'd get drunk and spend all my money on it.

Chicken curry, rice, salad and chilli chutney,  from the Thali Cafe (£7.50)

Positives: All parts made properly and with care. Distinctive spicing, of a general South Indian persuasion, with loads of mustard seeds.  A very good curry. They also do very good cakes, £2 at the stall but £1 from some nice women roaming the site with some in a basket. Here is the carrot cake:

Negatives: Slightly dry chicken, pieces on the bone would be better. Pushing it a tad pricewise, and charging £1.50 extra for one chappatti straight from a packet is really taking the proverbial. They don't sell Thalis. Probably be a bit daft to try that at a festival though eh?

Arancini chilli wrap, from Arancini Brothers (£4.50)

Positives: Rather cocked up the photo with this one. Oh well extreme salad close up it is. The arancini were really good. Crisp exterior and really creamy, grease free centre. Livened up with some chilli chutney and loads of salad I enjoyed eating this. A good lunch, filling but healthy too.

Negatives: Maybe a bit small for the cash. The chutney was tasty but not very spicy. Not their fault whatsoever but the stall was infested with wasps. Mind you so was the whole festival.

Steak and stilton pie, mash and gravy, from Pieminister (£6.50)

Positives: Generously proportioned, decent mash and gravy.

Negatives: Not much steak in the pie, which had been sitting around for about 2 hours too long. Guess that's understandable though at a festival. I don't really get the Pieminister thing. They seem to have grabbed a large swathe of the gourmet, expensive pie market without having a product that's all that good.

Fish, chips and peas, from the Sea Cow (£7.50)

Positives: Generously proportioned, nice peas. Fish cooked ok.

Negatives: Terrible chips. They were a bit chewy and mealy on the inside. Although the fish itself was cooked well, the batter was limp and greasy. Predictably the skin was on the fish. Someone else had the plaice goujons the following day, and they were better, being encased in a crunchier batter. The chips were fresher but still shit though. They have a restaurant in East Dulwich, which surely must be better than their mobile effort.

Veggie burger, from the Veggie stall (exact name escapes me) (£5)

Positives: It had houmous in it. The bread was fairly fresh.

Negatives: It was Sunday lunchtime, so perhaps I was losing my mind by this point. I've nothing against the type of veggie burger that doesn't pretend to be meat (some kind of patty or fritter made from say mushrooms or sweetcorn or something) but this was one of the pretending-to-be-meat soya burger things. It had a strange mushy texture and a vaguely meaty artificial flavour. Imagine a sort of low-grade meat paste in a bun with houmous and salad. Doesn't sound very nice does it?

Sausage and egg sandwich, Tasty Tamworth's and somethingorother Hereford's (£3.50)

Positives: It wasn't really called somethingorother Hereford's, I just can't recall that bit of the name. Something alliterative (horrible? hefty?). Whatever the name they were supposed to be selling top quality sausages. This was supposed to cost £3.50 for the sausage sarnie, plus 50p for an egg, plus £1 for a cup of tea. The chap serving wasn't really awake or paying attention and charged me £3.50 for the lot.

Negatives: The unexpected discount was the high point. The sausage was practically shredded having seemingly been hacked to bits with a blunt spoon to make it fit in the bread. It was both dry and mushy, any succulence having long departed the scene as the woman cooking them was obsessively prodding every sausage with a temperature probe about every three seconds, releasing all the juicy goodness. It tasted weird too. The egg was cooked solid throughout except for a thin layer of uncooked egg snot clinging to the top surface. I still ate it though, 'cos I was hungry and hungover.